SONGKHLA: Three more Vietnamese fishing trawlers have been seized and 14 crew members arrested for illegally catching sea cucumbers in the Gulf of Thailand.
A patrol boat from the 2nd Naval area spotted the three Vietnamese boats entering Thai waters to rake the seabed for sea cucumbers, or trepang, about 39 nautical miles north of Koh Losin, near the coast of Songkhla, on Monday.
The three boats and their 14 crew were taken to the Songkhla naval base .
Under questioning, the skippers of the boats said they had come from Ca Mau and Kien Giang in Vietnam to catch sea cucumbers in Thai waters off Songkhla province.
All were later handed over to Muang district police for legal action and then deportion.
The navy has notified the Vietnamese embassy.
It was the navy’s second seizure of Vietnamese trawlers fishing in Thai territorial waters since the fiscal year began on Oct 1, and brings the total seized this month to four boats and 19 crew members.
In fiscal year 2018, the 2nd Naval Area arrested 40 Vietnamese boats with 216 crew members for illegally fishing in Thai waters.
